The Cherry Blossom Alliance
by al2010
Summary: A story of romance between three unlikely people. GaaSakuNeji.
1. The Beginning

The Cherry Blossom Alliance

Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto", nor will I ever. It belongs to the talented Masashi Kishimoto. This is my very first fanfic.

Sakura slowly entered the room and searched for a friendly face. She seemed unsuccessful aside from noticing Hyuuga Neji and Sabaku no Gaara. Neji spared a rare grin in her direction, the woman who had earned his respect and admiration; they had become friends through many missions, sparring practices, and hospital visits. Gaara briefly nodded towards her to show his acknowledgement. He was the current Kazekage of Suna and was in the process of conducting an important meeting between Suna and Konoha. There had been whispers of an attack from Sound against their two villages; therefore, it was decided advantageous to both to join together in an alliance. To establish an alliance between Suna and Konoha, Gaara had generously decided to loan both of his siblings to Konoha, and in return, Konoha had agreed to lend two of their most talented shinobi, Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Neji. Gaara was currently speaking to the Hokage in hopes of arranging a marriage between himself and Sakura in order to further strengthen their alliance for his lifetime.

Gaara had acknowledged the fact that Tsunade would be reluctant to relinquish Sakura to Suna in order to enter into a marriage union with him, what he wasn't prepared for was the Hyuuga's outburst. Neji was adamantly opposed to their union for personal reasons which had yet to be disclosed; as well as claiming that Konoha would not release such a powerful asset to Suna in order to secure an alliance. He pleaded that Konoha could offer a different kunoichi for the marriage alliance and hoped to not offend the Kazekage by withdrawing Sakura. The Kazekage's council members tittered nervously amongst themselves as they watched the Kazekage enter into a heated staring contest with the Hyuuga. Sakura finally ended their staring match by destroying the table in which they were all seated around. She immediately held everyone's gaze and attention. She proceeded to explain how she wasn't a possession to be bartered and traded; she had her own mind and if they wanted to discuss her pending marital status, they would have to include her in the conversation.

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	2. Contemplation

Contemplation

Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto", nor will I ever. It belongs to the talented Masashi Kishimoto. This is my very first fanfic.

Summary: A story of romance between three unlikely people. GaaSakuNeji

Sakura calmly walked over to one of the chairs now surrounding the destroyed table. She seated herself and began to explain her stance on the matter of her impending marriage. She stated that she and Neji, as well as she and Gaara were close friends. Also, she stated that if marrying Gaara would strengthen the Suna/Konoha alliance, she would devote herself completely to the marriage.

Neji abruptly cut Sakura off after hearing her latest statement. He exclaimed with heated determination that he had feelings for Sakura and if she married Gaara, it would break his heart. In the past, Neji and Sakura had gone out on a few dates, first they started as mere coincidences of being in the same place at the same time, but they gradually started to grow more frequent and Neji had found himself actively searching for Sakura. He had grown to treasure his witty and sometimes racy banter with Sakura, her strength-both emotional and physical, as well as her beauty-outward appearance and inner personality.

After Neji's exclamation, Gaara was prompted to think about his close friendship with Sakura. He had begun to grow close to Sakura after she had saved his brother, Kankuro, from Sasori's poisoning. They had continued to bond due to Sakura's frequent visits to Suna with Naruto. It had amazed him how easily Sakura could forgive his attempt to kill her during the chuunin exam, and how she had been one of the first to extend her hand in friendship. In the end, Gaara concluded he would not easily relinquish her to Neji, unless it was her wish alone. He knew that there were many other talented and renowned kunoichi from Konoha, but the only one he desired was Sakura. Even at a young age, he had known he had no desire to marry, but Sakura had abruptly changed his opinion, he decided she would be the only one who he would marry, and no other would be suited to the challenge.

Neji mentally fumbled throughout his mind to find a suitable kunoichi to offer Gaara in place of Sakura. He went through a list of kunoichi in his mind which included: Sakura's friend, Ino-engaged to Shikamaru, Tenten-married to Lee, Hinata-dating Naruto, and Temari-married to Kiba with two kids, he only thought of Temari in case Gaara really was mentally unstable and was in to incest. Thank goodness the thought was completely wiped out upon witnessing the look Gaara sent to Sakura. It was a look of such love and compassion, that for a moment, Neji felt that Gaara might be the better man. He shook his mind to clear his thoughts and asked Gaara why he couldn't just marry his former student, Matsuri, who had transferred to Konoha in hopes she would be given the opportunity to marry Gaara for the alliance. Gaara answered that he thought of Matsuri as a younger sister and could never view her as a woman. Neji went back to brooding over his predicament, while thinking he came to the conclusion he could never destroy any of his friends' happiness for his own.

Meanwhile, Sakura sat in shocked silence while contemplating Neji's admission of love. She thought back on the time she had spent on dates with him, their constant missions together-she'd have to thank Tsunade later, and their beautiful friendship. Before they had started going on dates, they had always loved to converse with one another due to their higher level of intellect. Shikamaru would occasionally join in these conversations when Ino was on a mission or needed to take part in an intelligent conversation. Sakura had been close to agreeing to a serious relationship with Neji, after she had made a list of pros and cons of being with him in the long run. One week prior to the mission, Neji had asked Sakura to be his first and only girlfriend as well as move in with him. He explained how she spent most of her time at his house anyway; this would just save some expenses and time, as well as being the logical thing to do. She also thought about how she felt about Gaara. Anyone could see they had chemistry and were quite compatible in both personality and appearance. They got along quite well and could relate to one another's childhood. Before Sakura had started to bond with Neji, she had contemplated whether she had feelings for Gaara and if a relationship could ever progress from their solid friendship.

Sakura slowly turned to face Neji and Gaara and asked them to give her some time to take everything in and come to a conclusion. She told Gaara she would do anything for her country, but she also had to sort out her feelings for Neji. Neji's face began to brighten into a grin, due to the fact that he believed he had won Sakura's heart. Before Neji could stride over to kiss Sakura, she also stated that in order to decide which decision she would make, she would have to go on a few dates with Gaara to discover if she had feelings for him, and how he compared to Neji as a romantic interest.

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	3. The Date

The Date

Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto", nor will I ever. It belongs to the talented Masashi Kishimoto. This is my very first fanfic.

Summary: A story of romance between three unlikely people. GaaSakuNeji

Gaara had made arrangements at an exclusive 5-star restaurant in hopes of impressing Sakura. He had immaculately planned their date and made sure it would run smoothly. No interfering Hyuuga tonight, he had made sure to send Neji off on a mission that was both an insult to Neji's rank as a shinobi as well as time-consuming.

Throughout their dinner date, Gaara had acted the part of a perfect gentleman; he was kind, considerate, polite, and handsome. Although, Sakura wished they had enjoyed a more low-key dinner; she wasn't interested in extravagantly expensive foods, it was the company that joined her when she ate that truly decided whether she had a pleasant evening. A small, nagging voice in the back of her mind whispered, "Neji understood and agreed with your values," accompanied with an image of Neji after a particularly difficult mission, eyes shining with pride.

Sakura shook her head to clear her mind of these thoughts, she was on a date with Gaara, she shouldn't be thinking of Neji. Gaara nervously asked, "Are you alright? Is something wrong? Is the meal not to your liking?" Sakura replied, "The food is wonderful, although you haven't been behaving in your normal opinionated manner. I'm starting to feel a bit lonely without your input in the conversation. Are you feeling okay?" Gaara grasped Sakura's hand in his own and apologized profusely for his soft-spoken manner he had worn throughout dinner. He had just been so stunned by her beauty and was unsure of how to be romantic. Sakura found his admission endearing and told him to just be himself.

Throughout their date, Sakura had constantly found her mind wandering back to Neji and wondering what he was doing while she was on her date with the Kazekage. She also began to realize her previous romantic notions towards Gaara had been just that, wishful romantic thoughts directed toward her attractive Kazekage friend. They hadn't been based on true evidence, well; their coloring complimented each other… They hadn't been based on true feelings, the friendship was real enough, but the romantic inclinations were not. Sakura was surprised she had managed to sort out her feelings in only one date, but was relieved nonetheless to realize she had discovered her heart belonged to Neji.

Gaara, however, fell more deeply in love with his beautiful Sakura. She was everything and more than what he'd ever dreamed. She was beautiful, intelligent, witty, and humorous; the perfect balance to his serious and introverted nature. Once they reached the hotel Sakura was staying at, Gaara pulled Sakura close and timidly kissed her forehead; he didn't want to be too forward, but he also wanted to Sakura to know how much she meant to him. Sakura gave Gaara a big, warm hug in return and then turned to walk into the hotel. Gaara sopped her in her tracks by tentatively calling out, "Will you go on another date with me? I really enjoyed our time together tonight," to which Sakura replied, "Why don't we include Neji next time? Let's see well we all get along as a group of friends." Gaara's head dropped in defeat once Sakura's back was no longer in sight. He needed to prove to her that he would be a better husband that that stuffy Hyuuga.

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	4. Rivalry

Rivalry

Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto", nor will I ever. It belongs to the talented Masashi Kishimoto. This is my very first fanfic.

Authors Note: Sorry I haven't updated recently! I've been really busy with school and everything, so I apologize again.

Neji and Gaara arrived 15 minutes early to the pre-determined coffee shop they were supposed to meet Sakura at. Both were silent, although occasionally exchanging glares with one another. Sakura walked over to them, 5 minutes late, and apologized profusely. They casually brushed aside her apologies and lateness; they were just glad that they would get to spend time with her. They each ordered something to eat and drink and then began a steady flow of conversation. Sakura treated this as a sort of game, and proceeded to ask them each questions that would be found on a dating show. Although she had already reached a decision, she decided she'd have one last day of fun with them. Once they had each finished their meal, and answered all of Sakura's outlandish questions, such as 'If I were an animal, what would I be?', 'If we got married, what type of toothpaste would we use?', and their favorite question, 'If we went on a vacation to Mars, what would the natives look like?', they decided to head back to the Hokage tower so Sakura could make her final decision.

Tsunade greeted the three of them with an expectant look upon her face as she waited for Sakura's decision; both boys looked expectantly at Sakura with anticipation of her answer. Sakura explained her decision, "After going on a date with Gaara so I could compare it to my dates with Neji, I have decided that although it was very pleasant, I couldn't stop thinking about Neji. When we were all at the café in order to see how we interacted as friends, I couldn't help but feel like Neji really knows me and how much I value Gaara's friendship. I'm sorry Gaara, I love you like a friend, but I love Neji in the romantic sense." Gaara sadly nodded in understanding and prepared to return to Suna, until Sakura grabbed his hand. Sakura's eyes pleaded for him to forgive her for her decision, as Gaara pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug, he whispered, "I respect your decision and I truly wish you happiness. Maybe if I'd made a move earlier, you would've chosen me. I truly love you Sakura Haruno and wish you well. I expect you to invite me to your wedding with the Hyuuga." Sakura sadly nodded and told him, "In another life we could've been together, I'm terribly sorry." Once Gaara left, Neji swept Sakura into his arms and kissed her senseless. Tsunade rolled her eyes and told them to get a room; she also asked them when they planned to go through with their wedding. Neji responded that he wanted a spring wedding, since Sakura had mentioned that was her favorite season. Tsunade nodded in agreement and happily began to prepare for the upcoming nuptials.

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